Churchill-class submarine

Churchill-class submarine HMS Conqueror
Class overview
Name	Churchill class
Builders	Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Valiant class
Succeeded by	Swiftsure class
In service	1970–1992
Completed	3
Retired	3
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Submarine
Displacement	4,900 tonnes
Length	86.9 m (285 ft)
Beam	10.1 m (33 ft)
Draught	8.2 m (27 ft)
Propulsion	One nuclear reactor, one shaft
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h) submerged
Range	Unlimited, except by food supplies
Complement	103
Armament	6 × 533 mm (21 in) tubes capable of firing: Mk VIII torpedoes Mk 24 Tigerfish torpedoes UGM-84 RN Sub Harpoon missiles

The three Churchill class,^[1] sometimes known as the Repeat Valiant-class submarines were nuclear-powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The Churchill class was based on the older Valiant class, but featured many internal improvements.

The lead vessel was named after the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. HMS Conqueror was the most famous of the class, sinking the Argentinian cruiser ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War. As of 2022^[update], this is the only instance of a nuclear-powered submarine of any nation sinking an enemy ship by torpedo.